I've went on tropical vacations before, but it seems that the older the get, the more I burn.

When I was a kid I didn't even put on suntan lotion a lot of the time and tanned easy.

Nowadays I have to put on suntan lotion everywhere to avoid the burns, but a few people have told me recently that before my vacation(this FRI to Dominican) I should go to a tanning bed for a 5-10 minute session a day to develop a 'base tan' so when I put suntan lotion on when I get to the Dominican, I have a much lower chance of burning and much higher chance of getting a good tan.

So my questions are this:

1. Should I go to the tanning salon the next 3 days before my trip to do this? Why/Why not?

2. What is the best+safest suntan lotion to use nowadays? My friend also says to use moisturizer at night? Please leave a comment as to what I should use throughout the day, itd be much appreciated.